AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 25,546 Shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 473,241 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,546 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 1.05% of Sandy Spring Bancorp worth $11,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SASR. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.6% in the second quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 11,785 shares of the bank’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.9% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,456 shares of the bank’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,176 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 17,344 shares of the bank’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.8% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 55,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:SASR opened at $30.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.27 and a 52 week high of $34.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.65.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.08. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 6.41%. The company had revenue of $184.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on SASR shares. StockNews.com lowered Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

About Sandy Spring Bancorp

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Sandy Spring Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, mortgage, private banking, and trust services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It offers financial products and services, including various loan and deposit products.